Gallimaufry
by Miasmic
Summary: Stuck on a deserted island with two bizarre boys, Sakura has only one thing in mind; survival. However, when these two boys begin to toy with her emotions, she finds her self in a war between lust and love. Romance/Adventure/Suspense/Drama/Very Sci-Fi
1. Intro

**A/N:**

**(This was originally on my other account Point of Departure, so no worries, I'm not stealing c:)**

**Don't worry! The intro is supposed to be vague. Just pull through for the next two chapters or so, and then judge whether you like it or not! Remember to leave a review!**

T I t l e : **Gallimaufry**

A u t h o r : **Miasmic**

G e n r e : **Adventure/Sci fi/ Romance/ MYSTERY**

S u m m a r y : Year 2676. Year 2676. In a perfect world where everyone is equal, Sakura seems to have everything she could possibly want. However, after a chain of unexpected events, she finds herself on a deserted island with two bizarre boys. As the embarks on this adventure, she begins to experience love, hate, jealousy, friendship, and above all truth.

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><p>║ ¤ Gallimaufry ¤ ║<p>

Introduction:

_Le Premier Pas_

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><p>Year 2676.<p>

"_Province 3 Medical Academy is a distinguished school filled with the most renowned, determined, and talented students this world has to offer. At this academy, not only do students excel at their Division, but they also do so with patience, kindheartedness, and most importantly, kinship. This is what defines you. Every student enrolled at an academy is a student for life, and is expected to uphold the Honor Code from the academy he or she derives from. Students must be conscientious at all times of both the Law and the Codes. Beyond the academy, students will represent their province with pride and respect, and recognized not just fellow citizens, but the citizens of other provinces as well. Students will strive for equality and justice, and will base his or her actions off of reason, not personal emotions. These are some of the few principles you must uphold._

_Every student in this room is a brother or a sister. As the near future approaches, your time together is coming to a close. In fact, some of you may be split up to separate wings of Institution, and for some the departure center will be the last time you see each other. However, distance is something that should never severe a bond. You have been together for the whole sixteen years you have lived in this province, and the Ministry would like you remind you that although you may be separated, bonds should strengthen and new ones should form with absence. And perhaps you will all meet again in the Capital one day._

_Without further ado, the World Ministry would like to congratulate this year's graduating class for a successful fifteen years of provincial education. May the future be prosperous, and may the next four years at Institution be most memorable._

_Learn now, and forever more."_

Prime Minister Colligan Capital

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><p>˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.◦► ¤◄◦.·˙.·˙.·˙.·˙.·˙.·˙.·˙.·˙.·˙<p>

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><p>The minute the huge projection of the Prime Minister's speech went black, the entire gymnasium was sound with a booming applause and roaring shouts. Red, white, and yellow confetti was falling through the air over the mass of kids, seeming to appear out of thin air. It covered the metal folding chairs which were violently being knocked over in thrill. Some students were discussing the sad yet accurate facts of the speech, and although it pained many of them, everyone was simply too excited to shed any tears yet. Although the chances of seeing each other at Institution were slim to none, it was graduation and they had three days ahead of them of celebrations and recognitions! Until then, they had no need to cry.<p>

Sakura was beaming. She, like the rest of the female body, was clad in a silky red dress and black heels. Her bubble gum hair, beautifully done by her mother, was a curly up-do. Her face was glowing. She honestly had never been so happy. Even if she wouldn't be seeing her friends, just the thought of Institution ignited her insides with a strong passion. Institution was what all kids looked forward to— probably even subconsciously at birth. Graduation year was just something to look forward to in general. Everyone turned sixteen, earning legal privileges, like using the Television Center passed 7 p.m., being able to drink an alcoholic beverage at celebrations— alcohol was usually reserved for the high class Capital residents anyway— more travel and vehicle options, traveling _alone_, and tablet computer use.

And those were some of the very few.

The reason Sakura was so excited for Institution was because Institution was a place for independence, and although no one ever said it, it was a chance for students to make themselves stand out from the crowd. It seemed farfetched to Sakura at first— for students to stand out—, because this world, unlike previous ones, was a world of equality. She had been taught that since she could first understand words. But Sakura had heard that after students graduate from Institution, sometimes a select few move on to live in the Capital. After Institution, the Capital is what everyone looks forward to. The Capital was a secluded city not far from Institution. No normal person was granted access to the inside, and the only people ever seen leaving the city were the World Ministry members. The World Ministry described the Capital as a place "all should set a goal toward". Residents there lived in the lap of luxury. They had everything so they didn't even need to leave. If someone somehow worked hard enough, the Ministry could let him in. That would be a rarity, though. If it _were_ to ever happen, it would be considered an esteemed privilege. Besides, that's all a theory. Why only some people lived in the Capital was completely unknown. What made them so special? How did they get the attention of the Ministry?

Some questions were impossible to answer.

"Sakura!" Kira, Sakura's best friend, said, "We're officially First Year Institution undergrads!"

Sakura's smile widened, her green eyes glistening, "I know! Its ridiculous how fast time flies! Next thing you know we'll be _graduates_."

Both girls squealed, holding each other's hands and jumping up and down. Around them students began to file out of the gym to greet their awaiting families. Weirdly enough, the only people allowed to watch the Prime Minister's speech to the graduating class was the graduating class. Many people assumed this was so because it was a _personal address_, and therefore no one else should hear it. With that, it was also forbidden to talk about the speech with anyone other than your fellow classmates. In private— that was stressed. No one was bothered by that rule, though. Prime Minister Colligan Capital's speeches were nothing special.

As soon as Sakura stepped outside of the gym doors she was attacked by a mass of hugs and a face full of flowers. She flinched at the suddenness. It was apparent that her family had found her before she found them. Typical.

She knew it was going to be a long three days.

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><p>˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.◦► ¤◄◦.·˙.·˙.·˙.·˙.·˙.·˙.·˙.·˙.·˙<p>

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><p>Tick.<p>

Tock.

Tick.

Tock.

"Institution is a high tech academy collecting the most elite provinces from all over the world under one code, and on one campus. The campus is nearly the size of three North Eastern Provinces put together… And as many of you know, North Eastern Provinces aren't small… Upon arrival _all_ enrolled students will assembly briefly for orientation. Following that will move-in. All map information can be found using the directories throughout the campus and dormitories. All meals will be served in the dining hall of your designated wing. Half of your classes will be based on your Specialization, or Division, and the other half will be general academics. Some of those general classes will also be "connecting classes", in which Provinces will "connect" their knowledge on certain subjects… For example: The Medical Province and the Athletic Province may discuss the composition and function of skeletal muscle… We have these classes because Institution's goal is to bring all 9 Provincial Branches of Academics together… Those 9 Branches include; Medicine, Business, Athletics, Arts, Education, Science, History, Law, and Math… This means that many of your classmates will be of mixed provinces," The lady informed, stopping to scan the crowd of students before continuing on. Sakura paid no mind. The lady was talking so fast and so many awkward pauses— which were unnecessarily dramatic and took up precious time.

They were in the departing center waiting to go through security. The lady— a faculty member of Institution— had been giving that very boring lesson for the past half hour. Of course, Sakura already did her research. Who wouldn't? She thought. Impatiently she tapped her foot. Her eyes drifted to her side where she had her navy blue carry-on and book bag. The rest of her things were already on their way to Institution by shipping. At the rate this lady was talking, her stuff could get there before her.

As soon as aforementioned lady dismissed them, Sakura made a beeline for security, weaving through the ropes toward the first check point for identification. At the podium was a stocky old man with a white mustache that covered most of his lips. He smiled, the mustache making his entire mouth disappear.

"Please swipe your Data Chip in front of the detector," He said, pointing to the front of the podium at a black glass square imbedded inside. Sakura slid her forearm passed it, watching as the microchip in the tissues of her arm emitted a visible green light through her skin. The man's podium 'beeped', signaling the successful transmission of the data.

"Har-uno, Sa-ku-ra," He enunciated, looking down at the podium screen where Sakura's information was displayed, "Province 3 of the South-Eastern hemisphere. Branch: Medical – Division: Surgery - Sub-division: Neurosurgery. 16 years of age. First time traveler. Destination: Institution."

He looked up, grinning.

"Welcome to Province 3 Departure Center. Have a nice flight."

Sakura smiled in return and began walking down a long mechanical hallway to the next station. From floor to ceiling the hall was a digital screen. As Sakura walked one wall digitized her reflection, while the other showed her silhouette and flight information. Everywhere else along the hall there were moving advertisements. Still, the floor was what Sakura loved the most. At the beginning of the hall it started out as mud, then shifted to snow, then to sand, and then grass. Each time her foot touched ground she left a foot print— each different based on the terrain—, and whenever she stepped, it sounded like she was stepping on that specific terrain.

At the end of the hall there was a grumpy looking guard. He took Sakura bags and placed them on a massive metal table. She guessed the table was a scale.

The guard had on clear x-ray goggles.

"Please swipe you DC," he said as he looked over her things. Sakura did as told, feeling a little uncomfortable knowing that he could see everything inside of her bags. As she swiped her arm across the detector on the table, the man's goggles lit up with information. Sakura could see her picture in them.

"Clear." He called out, shoving her bags out of the way and beckoning the next person to come. Hurriedly, Sakura took her things and scrammed.

Security only took a few minutes. However, as Sakura waited for the rest of her class to finished up, she could see another province, probably a smaller one without a departure center, beginning to file through the digital hallway. Her eyes scanned down the line of unfamiliar faces and suddenly stopped dead at a dark haired girl. _She_ looked familiar. What Branch was that province? Sakura strained her eyes to look at the name displayed on the wall as the girl walked through.

There wasn't enough time to think before she was being ushered on toward the gates.

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><p>˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.◦► ¤◄◦.·˙.·˙.·˙.·˙.·˙.·˙.·˙.·˙.·˙<p>

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><p>The approximate amount of time to get to Institution was around 15 hours. Sakura sighed at this. There were around 10 people on her small plane, which made things a little more comfortable. But, she thought, since it's such a small plane there is nowhere walk. And therefore, nothing to do.<p>

Sakura sighed again, not noticing the flight attendant waiting beside her.

"What would you like to drink?" she asked quietly, bending over.

"I'm not thirsty. Thank you, though," Sakura responded with an apologetic grin.

"But I insist," The flight attendant said quickly, "We have juice straight from the South-Western Province 46."

Not wanting to be bothered at the moment, Sakura concealed another sigh and said— in the kindest way she could— "I'll take the best thing you got."

"Yes ma'am!" The flight attendant said, sounding too accomplished.

When the drink finally came, Sakura had to admit that it was probably one of the best tasting juices ever. It was a cloudy pink color, with loads of pulp. What was in it? Jumjaba fruits? Strawraspberry and Pine? Cocoapple? Whatever it was, it was strong. Though, it had a bit of an acrid aftertaste. And it made Sakura feel like she hadn't slept in days. It was kind of like a wave of heat had flushed over her body, and as the heat disappeared; it took the rest of her energy with it. She fought the exhaustion. The flight had only just begun! As she gazed out the window with heavy eyelids, all she saw was a wide expanse of white clouds. The bumps and shapes blurred the more she blinked. Soon enough she was going to be knocked out. However, right before drifting off into sleep, a strip of red caught her eye:

EMERGENCY EXIT.

_To be continued…_

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><p>˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.◦► ¤◄◦.·˙.·˙.·˙.·˙.·˙.·˙.·˙.·˙.·˙<p>

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><p><strong>AN: **

**(Review please!)**

**Hello! Some of you may recognize this from my other account: Point of Departure. Well, I've decided to created another account for more serious stories, and this is one of them. By no means am I dumping my other account. I'm using both :). Also, this intro is supposed to be confusing, so just hang in there. It's just relevant information that needs to be known in order to understand the rest of the story! It'll get better!**

**PLEASE REVIEW! I need more motivation! More reviews = more chapters!**

**Also, please check out my other account and my other stories at**

.net/u/1833199/Point_of_Departure


	2. Part I: Chapter I: INCINERATION

║ **¤ Gallimaufry ¤ **

Part I: Chapter I

_Incineration_

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><p>A loud explosion echoed through the forest as a shadow from the sky slid unceremoniously against the terrain of the forest, leaving an ample trail of destruction before coming to a complete halt. Smoke seeping from the crakes of the doors snaked its way upward, barely visible against the cloudy night. Animals fled from the area, hiding behind the spared trees and rocks, not bothering to see what had invaded their land. Save for the rain, everything was silent. Then, almost just to disturb the peace, a door was pushed open. Black smog from the inside of the vehicle rushed out audibly, not clearing a single bit for anything— if there was even anything around— to see the tiny, mangled form roll out and onto the mud below. Another explosion, a small one to say the least, ignited the caliginous sky. Warm droplets pelted the metal of the crashed figure— an airplane— sizzling as they came in contact with the stubborn flames absconding from the sides and scorching through the roof. The putrid smell of burning plastic rose into the air, spreading throughout the newly made clearing, and driving away any lingering critters.<p>

Sakura laid there with the side of her face fixed in the mud, immobilized. Charred nerve endings in her left ankle and arm sent shockwaves of pain up and down her body, and the warm, wet rain wasn't helping ease the agony. The tissue in her throat and nasal cavity felt dry and cauterized with ever breath. Even her eyes— which were shut— had some foreign pain to them.

Sakura groaned as she began to process all of the information at hand. Where was she? That question remained unanswered, for opening her eyes was a futile attempt. How did she get here? Where was she prior? What seemed to start out as a small throb in her skull progressively turned into a raging migraine the more Sakura thought about it. Unfortunately, her memory was too muddled and all she could recall was hitting her head on the window of whatever it was she was in…

And for the life of her she couldn't remember what…

The heat from the adjacent fire was starting to burn Sakura even more, especially with the uncomfortable proximity between her and the crash. Numbly, she struggled to move her paralyzed limbs. Though, that seemed as meaningless as trying to open her eyes. What was she going to do? Simply wait until she could control her body? By that time she'd be dead.

Panic engulfed Sakura's insides, tears rendezvousing in the cracks of her shut eyelids on her motionless face. She was going to burn alive unless she did something! She internally screamed at her body to move. To show some kind of response to this danger. And as proven before, this energy was thoroughly wasted.

It seemed like forever before the heat from the inferno began to subside— or maybe she was just getting used to it— and she could remotely feel movement in her fingertips. Sakura's heart swelled with hope, and if she could smile, she would. Perhaps if she kept pushing, in time she would be able to move again. This afterthought sent another frenzy of bliss through Sakura's heart.

However that bliss was shattered when a sound in the distance froze Sakura from head to toe. It was a small noise— barely audible over the sizzling and cremating of the airplane—; a shuffling to Sakura's right that slowly and cautiously began to circle around the clearing, zigzagging back and forth across the land, but never seeming to come near Sakura's body. Suddenly the movement stopped, causing Sakura to hold her breath.

Less than a second passed before the shadow was sprinting toward Sakura's bodyy at an alarming rate. The grass under the figure snapped and became uprooted with the force of it abruptly halting at Sakura side. Something warm rolled her body over and scooped it up. Frightened at the abrupt weightlessness, she twitched her fingers again, urging her numb mouth and her worn down throat to cooperate and say something— anything. All that she could manage was a guttural whine.

"Shh," The figure assuaged. It was a quiet, yet deep voice, "I got you. You're going to be fine."

Sakura's body relaxed, sinking into the cincture of this stranger with a newfound relief. There was someone to help her, and to her that was all that matter. With this calming thought, the final, miniscule amount of adrenaline left in Sakura body began to vanish, allowing her mind to drift peacefully into the recesses of slumber.

It stopped raining.

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><p>˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.◦► ¤◄◦.·˙.·˙.·˙.·˙.·˙.·˙.·˙.·˙.·˙<p>

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><p>When Sakura opened her eyes she was faced with a crackling fire in a poorly made fire pit. White dunes of sand lined part of her vision and stuck to her hands, legs, and face, even settling in her unruly hair. On the other side of the small fire was a long stretch of jungle. At the very edge of that jungle, where the foliage connected with fine sands, were palm trees rooted at weird angles into the ground— some nearly horizontal and stretching out so far that they reach the ocean.<p>

"Good morning."

Sakura gasped lightly as a pair of black tennis shoes popped into her vision. She gazed up, squinting through the dark cerulean of early morning. The person had broad shoulders, and from what Sakura could see, was of muscular build. Considering that given information, Sakura deemed that this person was definitely a boy.

"How are you feeling?" He said, bending over to throw some twigs into the fire, the flames illuminating his face. The first thing Sakura noticed was his golden blonde hair, then his long, dark eyelashes, and sharp jaw line. He turned to face Sakura, flashing a pearly white grin. Sakura pushed herself into a sitting position, the swift movement— which really wasn't that swift— seeming to jostle her intestines, sent a burning acid up her esophagus and out her mouth. The boy frowned at her, taking a seat by the fire, "Not well, I can see. The same thing happened to me when I woke up. I'm guessing it's just the change of environment."

Sakura wiped her lips with the back of her hand and covered the vomit with a sheet of sand— making a mental note to clean it up later. She cleared her sore throat and began to say something, stopping short after hearing the hoarseness that plagued her voice.

The boy reached for a collection of hairy cups that lay a small distance away from the fire and handed her one. It was more like a bowl, Sakura decided, lined with a thick white coating on the inside and filled with water. She raised her brow at it, curious, yet gulping it down anyways. When the last drop was gone— she hadn't realized how thirsty she was— she peeked over the rim of the bowl to see the boy watching her expectantly.

"Where are we?" She asked, giving the bowl back.

"I don't know. I sort of just… woke up here," He answered, knotting his eyebrows together as he stared at the sand, drawing circles in it with his index finger.

"What's your name?"

"Oh! I'm sorry, I should have introduced myself before," He confessed, snapping back to reality with another white and bright smile. He extended an olive toned hand to Sakura, looking straight into her emerald eyes, "I'm Naruto."

"Sakura," She said, shaking his outstretched appendage, "So… Do you know how we got here?"

"No idea. All I remember is heading to Institution. And then yesterday I woke up on this shore. Everything else is cloudy," Naruto sighed and ran his fingers through his blonde tresses, "_But, _there's one thing, and I can _almost_ remember what it was. Even though I can't remember it fully, I know it's about something I saw right before I was knocked out."

Sakura was hit with a tidal wave of memories from the previous night. She remembered now: she had also been heading to Institution, via airplane. But… somehow the airplane crashed onto this island. There was a strange gap in between falling asleep on the plane and hitting her head on the window.

Naruto seemed to be concentrating extremely hard on something, and Sakura was hesitant to break his trance again. "An Emergency Exit sign?" She tried, knowing that that was the last thing _she_ saw before blacking out.

"No…" He answered quietly, quickly losing his serious expression as he took on a more lighthearted one, "But its fine. I think it'll come to me with time. How are your burns?"

Sakura blinked at the sudden subject change. Thinking about it, she honestly hadn't yet noticed her burns. She glanced down at her sand covered limbs, seeing deep salmon-colored scorch marks run from her partially melted left shoe up to her knee and across her left forearm. They weren't as ghastly as she had feared, nor as excruciating as anticipated.

"They're fine," Sakura admitted, "Probably just second degree burns. Nothing some Freeze Gel won't fix as soon as we get out of this place."

There was a lengthy and distasteful silence that was instantly born in the air. Sakura bit her lip at this, rotating to face the horizon, watching in awe as the orange sun peeked up behind the calm ocean, lighting the heavens with a spectrum of colors from the pinks to the yellows, and drawing a long line of sparkling crystals over the waters where it was reflected. The steady crash and pull of the waves mixed in with the soft breeze quickly made the awkward stillness between the two survivors seem relaxing.

Naruto was the first to move. He pulled something off his back— a beige bag that Sakura hadn't noticed before— and began to dig through it. Sakura eyes widened.

"Where do you get that?"

Naruto looked up from his rummaging, confusion plastered on his face, "What?"

Sakura pointed, "That."

"The bag?" He inquired, and Sakura nodded, "It's my personal carry-on from the ship. I had it with me when I woke up."

"Mine disappeared at the crash. I wonder what happened to it," She uttered, not really wanting to think about the crash. It gave her a headache.

"It probably got incinerated."

That didn't sound nice.

"I hope not," Sakura replied, her brows knitting together to complete her frown, "It has some very useful things in there. Like my tablet…"

Naruto reached into his bag again, pulling out his own tablet— a thin computer screen that nearly everyone in the world possessed—, shaking it for emphasis, "It'd be no use. The reception is dead. And without reception, these things won't even turn on."

"That _never_ happens," Sakura commented, shocked. She was beginning to feel a little panicky as their situation finally was registering in her mind. They were _stranded_. Alone. On an island.

"I guess it does here," Naruto stated, eyes gloomy, "Even our DC's are fried."

He held out his forearm. Sakura's green eyes trailed the smooth tissue until she saw a tiny grey square where Naruto's data chip was implanted, visibly, but slowly, rising to the top of his skin, forming a diminutive lump. She swallowed thickly. That wasn't a good sign.

Data chips, or DC's, were first introduced into society by a famous professor named Sakumo Hatake centuries ago. He thought that, rather than carrying around IDs that faced the danger of being lost, people could simple store all of their information on a single chip. This chip would be placed under the skin so to prevent theft and breakage. This idea of injecting chips into the body was not a new one, and, in fact, had been explored back in the Old Days. Notwithstanding it being such a revolutionary proposal, great dispute emerged and the idea was soon put to rest. Sakumo's proposal was not that much different from it, but, in the new world it erupted little ethical disagreement. At the launch of this new product— which later became law to wear — companies and higher ups began to summon more designs for future data chips, and ways to enhance them. Soon people were able to use data chips to go on the Net, to pay taxes, to listen to audio, and to shop without paper money. Life was so much easier. The Military even developed a tracking system. And just as a regular tracking system entails, the government knew where you were at all times of the day through your data chip.

Data chips that were weaved under tissue rarely got 'bad' without a reason. When they became old, or in rare cases, broken, they began to rise to the top of the skin. Whenever Sakura's data chips got old— which was about every four years— she would get a notification on her tablet. Immediately civilians were sent to get it removed and replaced, so never in her life had Sakura seen a chip _actually_ rise under the skin. That only happened to some adults because they didn't necessarily have to get it removed and replaced right away.

But that wasn't even the most frightening part. What scared Sakura most was the fact that the society's system had evidently been meddled with. There were _never_ supposed to be loopholes in the society's system. The servers were _never_ down. The Net was _never_ hacked. And there was _always_ reception _everywhere_. If their DC's and tablets were unresponsive and otherwise useless, how were they supposed to get rescued? Who could track them?

Sakura wanted to tear her pink locks right from her skull.

"I've tried everything to get the tablet to work," Naruto informed, taking his arm back, "But it still won't turn on."

"Then how do we get help? I mean, if we have no means of communication, then how do we send a some kind of signal?"

Naruto stroked his chin in thought. "Remember those old kid stories about pirates and treasure hunting?" He said, "Well they used to make S.O.S's, right?"

S.O.S's? Sakura gave him a blank look.

"You know, traveling the seven seas… Marooning people on deserted islands…?" He continued, waiting for a spark. Sakura simply shook her head and stared at him like he was delusional.

"I'm sorry, but I don't know what you're talking about."

Naruto's sapphire eyes went wide and his mouth agape, "You're kidding! Those old stories were the best part of my childhood. My mom used to read them to me every night! How can you not know them?"

"If you're referring to Old Day literature, we don't read that," Sakura replied, a little wary that he knew of them in the first place, "It's illegal."

"We don't?"

"I thought so. At least in my Province we don't…"

"Huh…" Naruto trailed off again, his mind filling with more than just puzzlement and doubt. Sakura couldn't read it on his face, but she could see it in his eyes— a weird emotion that made Sakura feel like he was hiding something very important.

Sakura couldn't stop staring at him after that. He was an odd boy. A _very_ odd one. He had read and learned about _Old_ _Day_ _literature_? When and how? Sakura was nearly one hundred percent positive that it was illegal across the globe. Either his parents were higher ups capable of harvesting such secretive material, or he was bluffing, easily fooling Sakura since she couldn't verify his information. She wondered what Province he was from…

"Here," Naruto said, handing Sakura some kind of cooked meat on a stick, "You should eat."

Sakura took it gratefully; scanning over the charred and scale-like covering with prudence. It smelled of fish. Sluggishly she brought to piece to her mouth, squeezing her eyes shut as the faintly warm meat touched her lips and was ripped by her teeth. Sakura grimaced.

"Bleh! How do you eat something like this?" She croaked— having swallowed probably the smallest bite she had ever taken in her life. Naruto looked amused at her reaction.

"That bad?" he laughed, taking a bite of his own cooked fish.

"No, no! What I mean is, it's so different from the food we eat in the Provinces," She amended, scanning over her food once again with widened eyes, "_Very_different."

"Not much different than they food I have back home," He said nonchalantly, taking another large bite and swallowing with glee. Sakura watched him as if he were insane.

Naruto almost spit out his food at her expression, bursting out in hilarity, "You're like from a totally different planet! First the stories and now this!"

"I could say the same about you," Sakura countered.

"What Province are you from?"

Sakura perked up, liking where the conversation was going.

"Province 3 of Medicine, Southeastern Hemisphere," She answered proudly.

Naruto whistled, "Someone's from a big part of the world."

"And what Province are _you_ from?" This was what Sakura had been waiting for…

"Province 416 of Agriculture, Southeastern Hemisphere."

"Agriculture?" Sakura voiced, astonished, "I didn't know that was a Province."

"Yeah, it's pretty small. Not many people know about the Agriculture provinces in general," Naruto said averting his cobalt eyes.

"You don't strike me as an Agriculture guy. You seem to know a lot more about survival," Sakura pointed out, gesturing around her to the furry bowls of water, the fire, and the cooked fish. No farmer would know how to do all that.

"My dad was in Law Enforcement and the Military," He explained, "So he kind of passed down all he knew about survival to me."

Sakura was astonished again— wasn't Naruto full of surprises?— Not because his father had somehow worked in two different branches, but because his parents _taught_ him? The only thing Sakura's parents ever taught her was how to walk and talk. Only her professors and school teachers were allowed to teach her, including the books and resources they provided her with. And on top of that, she never learned about anything other than her own Division. It's always been medical for Sakura. Straying from her studies was unacceptable, and _illegal_. Yet here was a boy, a strange _farmer, _who seemed to be breaking the law continuously, yet already gaining more useful information than Sakura couldn't dream of. He was a _farmer_, for crying out loud!

Did he live in a parallel universe?

Sakura raised the fish to her mouth, forcing down another bite, "What's it like in your Province?"

"There aren't many people. All we do other than school is farm work. But, you know, once the labor is done there's nothing else to do. We usually just play around to pass the time."

This fascinated Sakura, because the concept of 'playing' was quite foreign. Sure, she knew what it was, but she didn't have much time to play often or have fun. "What do you do for fun? Go to a movie screening?" Sakura asked, staring into the deep sea of Naruto's irises. That's what she and her friends usually did. Movie's were a quick way to bond and be entertained at the same time.

"No; we don't have theatres in my Province. We just go outside."

No theatres? Sakura couldn't belief her ears!

"Outside," Sakura repeated slowly, shifting so that she was cross legged, "You're not talking about the Forbidden lands, are you?"

Now Naruto was the baffled one. "Forbidden?" He said, returning the look Sakura had so often given him today, "I've heard of it before… But where I'm from we don't call it the 'Forbidden' lands. It's just outside."

The Forbidden, as Sakura was taught at a young age, was probably the last place someone would want to go. It consisted mostly of the lands in between and surrounding the Provinces— which is why one must take the flight train when traveling to the surrounding Provinces—, as well as all other grounds that have been blocked off from humans. Normally the only people allowed to roam the Forbidden were scientists. Naruto was no scientist.

"Isn't it dangerous?" Sakura gaped, lowering her voice and leaning forward, as if it were a secret, "I've heard that the animals aren't like the ones in the pet stores or the zoos. I've heard they're vicious."

"Not really. You're overreacting," Naruto said, a bit annoyed, "It's a lot like this place, essentially. But less tropical."

"_This_ place is dangerous," Sakura hissed incredulously, "I almost died yesterday!"

"Yeah, because of an _airplane crash_. If anything, the 'Forbidden'," Naruto said, 'air quoting', "Is the safest place."

"Weren't you ever taught about it as a child? It's full of creatures and atmospheres unfit for human living. We're not to go there, ever," Sakura explained, her façade hardening, "And how did you even get there? Weren't there barriers or fences?"

"Weren't _you_ ever taught that it's called _nature_," Naruto opposed, feeling a little more heated about this dispute than he wanted to be, "And despite what you've been taught, it's not that dangerous. My friend and I once walked to a Province that was three kilometers away. Does that tell you enough about our barriers?"

The two glared intensely at each other.

This was ridiculous! What kind of childhood did Naruto have? A horrifying one, _clearly_! Sakura shook her head, jostling her long pink locks in an attempt to rid herself of this doubt, and above all, interest. It was bizarre now that she began to ponder it; but despite feeling a rather potent abhor toward Naruto— due to their diversity in backgrounds— she was intrigued by his character. Everything about him drove her curiosity. She wanted to know more. Never had she imagined herself associating with a _farmer. _It was a rather exciting change.

However, Sakura felt a twinge of remorse at her thoughts— in her mind she was constantly placing herself above Naruto in status, calling him _farmer_. The society always imposed the idea that everyone was equal, even if everyone was different. But Sakura knew better, and she wasn't the only one that recognized the divide in classes that the society chose to ignore.

Sakura stood, virtually toppling over at the dizziness that rocked her vision. Steadying herself, she inhaled a fresh, confident breath, before looking over at the blonde boy next to the fire. She had decided; she was going to befriend Naruto. Getting to know him would not only satisfy her curiosity about him, but improve her chances of getting off this blasted island. It was killing two birds with one stone! And who knew, she thought, maybe they'd have more in common than she thought…

Naruto gazed up at her, his blue eyes looking surprisingly innocent on his sharp, masculine face.

"I'm going to go look for my bags," Sakura said, stretching her arms. She made sure not to pull at her burned skin, "Could you show me where the crash site is?"

"Sure," Naruto agreed enthusiastically, throwing the bones of his fish into the fire before extinguishing it. He stood, patted the sand from his thighs, and led Sakura into the thick jungle.

* * *

><p>˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.◦► ¤◄◦.·˙.·˙.·˙.·˙.·˙.·˙.·˙.·˙.·˙<p>

* * *

><p>Birds of all kinds— all colors of the rainbow— flew overhead, chirping their unique and uplifting songs while resting on the boughs in the frighteningly high canopy. Insects, beautiful yet spine-chilling, buzzed by, landing on plants they seemed to vanish on. Lacing through the dull ground of the forest were enormous tree roots battling for territory, creating a bumpy and perilous path. Creepers hung menacingly from the canopy, drooping down and twisting themselves into nearby tree branches.<p>

It all made Sakura's stomach ache.

"How did you find me?" She asked from behind Naruto, rubbing her tummy as it churned uneasily.

"Let me tell you: it _wasn't_ easy. I was out collecting firewood when I heard an explosion," Naruto told, pushing some creepers out of his way, "There wasn't any light because the sun had set, so instead of seeing where I was going I kind of just ran in the direction I heard it. It seemed like the logical thing to do. But it wasn't. I was running for hours without getting anywhere, and right went I was about to turn back, I saw something… really weird…"

"What was it?"

"It was a light. Don't laugh, okay? It kind of looked like a bug that was guiding me in the right direction… I'm being honest, I swear!" Naruto defended, having felt the skepticism radiate from Sakura behind him, "I will never forget how weird it was. After I got to the clearing and I found you, I headed back and everything was normal again. The crappy thing was: that damn light made me lost! It took practically an hour more than it should have to get back. Some freaking help…"

Naruto continued to grumble inaudibly.

"At least you got me," Sakura replied, grinning faintly, "Thanks."

Naruto turned around and flashed his now infamous grin, yelling, "Finally! I was waiting for some appreciation. For a minute I thought you were the cold, ungrateful type. If that were true, I'm warning you now, it wouldn't work out between us."

Sakura laughed for the first time on this island, a little surprised herself at how truly delightful it sounded. To ruin the moment, a wretched acid crawled up her throat, her sour stomach unable to contain the fish anymore. Turned to the side and leaning against a tree whose bark was pokey under her touch, Sakura upchucked her breakfast. Naruto rushed to massage her back.

"I'm so sorry," She breathed, insides completely empty. Naruto simply beamed.

"It's completely fine," He dismissed, grabbing Sakura by the hand and leading her off somewhere that wasn't in the direction they needed to travel in. After slithering through a few veils of vines and circling a large rotting plant, Naruto stopped. In front of them was a short tree— short compared to the other trees, that is. In truth, it was actually relatively large— whose branches curved over the Naruto and Sakura like curled fingers, creating a beautiful arch. The bark was smooth and grey, the limbs branching early from the trunk— no less than two feet up. The leaves, jagged and pointy green ovals, smelled sweet like sugar. Dangling in between the leaves were pale unripe fruits.

"What kind of fruits are those?" Sakura mumbled, more to herself, while closing in to get a better look.

"Not fruits; flowers," Naruto corrected, pulling one off to show Sakura, "See?"

Sakura leaned in, noticing that the whole 'fruit' was covered in soft fuzz. The bulbous end had seams where the sepals of the flower joined, sealing the inside. It looked like a premature flower. Sakura glanced at Naruto expectantly, "What kind of flowers are they, then?"

"I learned them as _Dulce_ _Blossumus_ _Cherrius_ _Equistitas_, but I like to call it honey pop because that name is too long. Early stages of the flower, like this one, are filled with a rich, creamy gel that can be squeezed out. The gel would usually turn into pollen and then burst when they flower blooms, but if you catch honey pop at the right stage you can eat it," Naruto said, staring possessively, hungrily even, at the pop in his hand.

"_Eat_ the gel? Are you crazy? It could be poisonous!" Sakura exclaimed.

"_Relax_, we have it in my Province. I guarantee it's edible."

Naruto stuck out his tongue, placed the honey pop on it, holding it by its thin end, and paused to give Sakura a "See? Not poisonous look" before pulling it into his mouth. Sakura bit her lip nervously as he did so, watching his mouth clamp shut and squeezed the honey pop. He pulled it out, smirking, "It relieves upset stomach. You should try it."

Sakura crossed her arms, raising one eye brow. "I think I'd like to wait a few hours and see what happens to you first."

"Come on! It tastes great!" Naruto beamed, taking another off a branch and shoving it in Sakura's hand, "If you die, I promise I'll revive you!"

"No," Sakura said stubbornly, holding out the honey pop as if it were some kind of disease. His humor and his smile had no affect on her decision whatsoever. Did he think she wanted to commit suicide? Being a Medical student, she knew about allergies and immunity, and she knew that because of Naruto's continuous exposure to such a plant, he most likely had gained some sort of resistance. And so, if the plant was somehow poisonous, then Sakura would possible swell up like a balloon and die—worst case scenario. Sakura wasn't so naive to take that risk. She inwardly shook her head at Naruto's persistence.

Breaking her train of thought, Naruto's stepped closer to her— invading Sakura's extremely expansive personal bubble— and took her hand in his own, being delicate to not squish the honey pop. Azure eyes gazed powerfully into emerald— with, what was that look…?— as he led her hand to his mouth. Sakura's heart nearly stopped when she felt her fingers brush his lips. She didn't know why. Perhaps it was simply the proximity she wasn't used to, or maybe it was fear for the safety of her hand. Ignorant of Sakura's panick, Naruto plopped the honey pop into his mouth, squeezed out the delicious juice with his jaw, and guided Sakura's hand— which was holding onto the thin end with its index finger and thumb— to pull it out.

Naruto smirked, stepping back. Stunned, Sakura let the empty honey pop fall from her hand.

"That's how it's done. Not that hard, right?"

It must have all happened faster in real time, however, to Sakura the event felt as if it ensued in slow motion. What just happened, anyway? And why was it necessary? She wasn't exactly sure.

Naruto extended a hand with another honey pop in it, and Sakura took it without complaints. She cleared her throat, regaining the composure she had lost a few moments prior. Eying Naruto warily, she asked, "If I eat one, can we move on to look for my bags?"

Naruto nodded.

Sakura readied herself by widening her stance — a position awfully superfluous for eating a simple flower—, and did exactly as Naruto did. Initially, the feeling of having something fuzzy in her mouth was so gross it was beyond words, however, as soon as Sakura pressed the underdeveloped flower between the roof of her mouth and her tongue, and an explosion of sweet liquid drizzled over her tongue, she was instantly craving more.

"Wow," she exhaled, captivated, "It's like a…" She didn't know what to call it.

"An airplane crash in your mouth?"

"That's exactly what I was thinking," Sakura replied, leaking with sarcasm, "How about we explore that idea and look for an actual airplane?"

"Whatever you say," Naruto uttered, clear triumph coated in his voice. Sakura wanted so badly to roll her eyes at his behavior. She chose to let him wallow in his success while it lasted, knowing that soon enough she'd get her turn.

After about a close fifteen minutes of walking in one direction, and then dallying in another, Naruto and Sakura walked into the clearing that had been created by the crash. Glad that the daylight now allowed them to see what they couldn't the night before, their gazes darted around rapidly, scanning for the one thing that seems to be missing from the picture.

There was no airplane.

_To be continued…_

* * *

><p>˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.◦► ¤◄◦.·˙.·˙.·˙.·˙.·˙.·˙.·˙.·˙.·˙<p>

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **

**R E V I E W R E V I E W R E V I E W R E V I E W R E V I E W R E V I E W R E V I E W R E V I E W R E V I E W R E V I E W R E V I E W R E V I E W R E V I E W R E V I E W R E V I E W R E V I E W R E V I E W R E V I E W R E V I E W R E V I E W R E V I E W R E V I E W R E V I E W R E V I E W**

**Wow. This pooped out longer than I anticipated. And it was one of the shorter chapters that I planned too… Huh. I guess that's good news for you all!**

**So… This is the first chapter! I know, still confusing. But I'm dropping little puzzle pieces here and there, so in the end you'll get the ultimate picture. Plus, I think it's good to keep a few things vague in a story. It keeps the reader guessing.**

**Note to readers: Naruto and Sakura were supposed to be awkward in this chapter :p. I wanted to keep it realistic, since they were strangers to each other. I didn't expect them to gain this instant bond, because I don't believe that's what makes NaruSaku special. It's not like "love/friendship at first sight". It's a different, long term relationship, like in the anime/manga, that binds the two. With that said, you should know that their current rocky grounds are not permanent.**

**;)**

**Oh, and I apologize for Naruto's OOC-ness. In this fic he is definitely going to be a lot smarter— which to me isn't a bad thing— but I will not get rid of his silly humor. In this first chapter I couldn't really leave room that, but don't be disappointed! It will still be the same, fun ol' Naruto!**

**Also, as I have said before: I have a lot planned for this story. I think I have almost the entire thing planned. And I do believe a sequel has been determined (hooray!), though that may change depending on how many chapters ****Part I**** ends up being. (boo!) :/**

**I hope you liked it! Really, it'll get even better!**

**PLEASE review! I love hearing what you all have to say!**

**General Info:**

**Check out my other (and first account) at**

.net/u/1833199/Point_of_Departure

**PS: My apologies for spelling and grammatical errors!**

**REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! :D**

**Love,**

**Miasmic**

**HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY FOR ALL AMERICANS**


	3. Part I: Chapter II: AFTERMATH

¤ Gallimaufry ¤

Part I: Chapter II

_Aftermath_

* * *

><p>The scar that the plane had left on the earth was nothing more than a cleared line of land, tree debris scattered across from the collision. The only thing that bugged Sakura was that there was no airplane in sight. Her emerald eyes darted left, and then right, searching for some kind of leftover metal. But there was nothing. Nothing but the golden sun and the wrecked ground. The whole thing couldn't have just… vanished; baggage and all. Even the people…<p>

"Whoa," Naruto breathed in awe, "Where'd it go?"

"Where'd the _people_ go?" Sakura thought aloud, eyes wide and astounded. She hadn't even wondered about that before, despite its obvious relevance. She had been in a flying vehicle full of medical students— full of her _classmates_. What happened to them? Where were they? Suddenly Sakura began to conjure up the worst possible scenarios, causing her heart to fill with sorrow. What if…

"They died," Naruto stated, face grim as he kicked a nearby piece of charred wood, "Probably, I mean. I think the same happened to the people on my ship. Although I don't remember what happened, I guess most of them must have drowned—"

"Was there anything left from the ship that you found on the beach?" Sakura said, slicing off Naruto's thoughts with her own— not that Naruto seemed to mind.

"No," Naruto responded, rubbing the back of his neck and looking in the corner of his eye in contemplation, "There was some driftwood that I used for my first fire, but that couldn't have come from my ship. My ship was completely metal."

"Plus," He continued, staring into Sakura's jade orbs, "Like I said, I don't remember much of what happened to my ship. There's a possibility it may still be out at sea, continuing its route to Institution."

Sakura's mind blew up at this, thoughts racing a mile a minute. Was it possible?

"But the same can't be said about the airplane… can it?" Sakura couldn't believe she was even considering it. A plane just picking up off the ground and leaving. And without noticing her absence, to say the least. And after _exploding_. Could it have possibly put itself back together?

"It's very unlikely, I suppose," Naruto was looking very serious now, his deep cerulean eyes narrowed dangerously at a piece of debris. He himself couldn't even fathom the thought, "Also remember that I did_ see_ the plane on fire— and your burns prove that it wasn't my imagination. Maybe the plane is biodegradable; a lot of things are nowadays."

"A biodegradable plane? That's unheard of," Sakura said, shaking her head, "And for it to completely degrade in less than a day— a plane of that magnitude— is just impossible. What about the people? We'd see something leftover, wouldn't we?"

Naruto shrugged, causing Sakura to frown. He was supposed to know these things! He was the expert, wasn't he? Sakura internally growled at herself, willing for a reasonable explanation as she absently ran a hand through her tangled pink locks. With all that information to consider, she couldn't even guess where the plane was at the moment. Did it degrade, or was it still on its course to Institution? She honestly had no idea. The lack of adequate information prevented her from making an educated guess. There was no 'percentile' and 'probability' here— not like she learned in school. Usually, logic was her forte. Using this doctoral-enhanced skill, it would be right to say that the plane couldn't have left the island— _just like that._ No. It was _absolutely_ impossible. Sakura had _felt_ and had _seen_ the explosion it gave off. She distinctly remembered falling out of the plane, getting her skin scorched by the embers, and being rescued by a very survival-savvy man. Those were the only facts Sakura knew. The most 'logical' explanation would be that the plane had degraded. And if it did, then perhaps the bodies were burned to ashes. Perhaps everything else was too— even though Sakura knew far in her mind that many of the plane's components were flame retardant— including the non-biodegradable things, like her carry-on bags.

Sakura rubbed her temples as she and Naruto began searching the grounds for some clues. Fine, she concluded, the plane degraded. It made sense, and therefore it was right to believe it. She had to believe until it was disproven, right?

(Actually, Sakura still didn't believe it, despite how logical it seemed. She could think of so many contradictories to that conclusion. Nonetheless, to save herself from becoming ill with nerves, she decided it best not to dwell on unimportant matters. Or, well, matters that shouldn't be important. Like things of the past. Like the plane, which was, bottom line, gone.)

"Find anything yet?" Sakura called over to Naruto as she looked behind a bush. She gazed over her shoulder to search for the boy, seeing a tan hand shoot up from the other side of a fallen tree.

"Nothing yet!" He waved, quickly going back to his investigation. Sakura sighed and blew the hair from her face, straightening her already aching spine. There was no point in looking for anything in such a mess, let alone her bags.

"Its fine," Sakura called, this time with a hint of disappointment in her voice, "It's clearly gone. I'll live without it."

Naruto sprung up and jogged over to Sakura's side, bringing his blonde eyebrows together. Sakura glanced at his concerned face, mustering a little pathetic smile as she said, "Really, its fine."

As Naruto's ocean eyes searched her face he could tell that this whole ordeal was bothering her way too much, but he wouldn't press. She looked exhausted; her eyes were becoming distant and dull, and her frown accentuated, deepened, the lines of her face. Naturally, exploring any more was last on her agenda. Getting used to this environment would take her while, Naruto thought, and even more so with her city-girl background.

He ran a hand through his golden tresses briefly, throwing a muscular arm around Sakura's shoulder— a gesture he would use to comfort the girls back in his Province. It always worked. However, Sakura only tensed under his touch, her shoulders becoming stone as her wary eyes darted to his calm and composed face. He squeezed her rigid form, momentarily gazing down at her pink head as he began to lead her into the jungle, towards camp. Surprisingly— even to Sakura— her muscles relaxed. Normally she would have shaken off Naruto's touch— or any male's, for that matter—and stepped away. But she was just way too tired to resist the warmth of his arm.

And, like the day he rescued her, having his masculine grip around her made her feel… protected, in a way.

* * *

><p>Sakura's didn't feel well at all. It wasn't that she had a headache. No, she refused to let that happen. It was her stomach again. Even after the supposed miracle-working honey pop, she still left ill. And on top of that, there was a keen throb in her right elbow, like a hammer hitting her bone. The only thing that seemed to help her ignore it all was the fire in front of her.<p>

She sighed, placing the good elbow on one of her raised knees and resting her chin in her palm. A breeze blew faintly, causing Sakura to exhale again, scanning the beach in boredom. Lazily she gazed over at Naruto, who was knee deep in the calm ocean waters, poised with his makeshift spear and waiting patiently for some food. Occasionally she would hear a splash, or a smack of the waves against his legs, but other than that he was completely silent. Sakura sighed thrice, wiping the sweat from her brow that the blazing sun had so rudely put there. Still bored, she flipped over her arm and gazed at her DC—a bump forming above it, a lot like Naruto's. Soon enough, it would reach the top layer of skin and she'd probably have to cut it out. Though, now that she thought about it, she really wasn't sure how you were supposed to remove it. Did it just fall off?

There was a violent splash, and Sakura couldn't help but cringe at the sound. She looked over toward the ocean, watching Naruto's back tense, the lines of hard muscle visible under the late afternoon sun. He growled out a curse, inspecting the sharp end of his spear with chagrin. Sakura took off her shoes, stood, and ambled over to where he was standing, careful not to disturb the returning fish as the warm water engulfed her knees, soaking the tips of her jean Bermuda shorts.

"Mind if I try?" Sakura asked, offering a warm grin. In a normal situation she wouldn't have asked, though she could tell Naruto was frustrated. Plus, she hadn't done anything useful yet, and perhaps it would take a load off of Naruto's shoulders. It took all of Sakura's might to stop herself from ogling over his chest and abs and stare as unwavering as she could into his soft eyes. In the back of her mind she wanted to sneak a peak, and this desire, no matter how odd and disgusting she thought it was, was relatively potent in her mind, making simply listening to Naruto's response a feat. It was like a natural instinct— one that really didn't seem so natural to her— to want to scan over his body.

"Of course not! Here, give it a go," He replied, and his white smile was nearly as hard to abstain from looking at as his abs were. He handed her the spear, "Would you like me to teach you? Though I do kind of suck at it."

"Sure."

"Alright," He began, widening his stance and poising himself, "First you've got to ready yourself. Catching fish is all about patience and stillness."

"Okay, I've got patience," Sakura mused aloud, copying Naruto's posture. This should be easy then, she thought.

"You have to wait for the right moment to strike. The water makes it difficult because it distorts the images of the fish, but, whenever you feel like you've got a good fish, just stab down at it. It's actually quite simple."

"Okay…" Sakura murmured, getting into her focusing mode. She watched as wave after wave passed over the white sandy floor, washing in the occasional seashell, but no fish yet. It must have been merely ten minutes of waiting and Sakura could already feel her muscles burning. She looked over at Naruto, who seemed to be watching her calculatingly.

"Wouldn't it make sense to do this in shallower waters?"

"Usually, yes," He responded, "But the waves are less crazy further out, so it's a little easier."

"Oh," Sakura said, returning her attention back to the waters in front of her. Her green eyes lit up at the sight of a silvery creature, medium sized she guessed, that swam leisurely in front of her. For a lucky moment it halted, simply wiggling in place. Sakura grinned excitedly. Taking advantage of that moment, she plunge the bamboo spear into the water— albeit the force of it hurting her elbow— and swiftly lifted it out, only to discover the end bare. She groaned, scowling at the waters, and particularly the fish as its good for nothing tail swam itself away.

"You make it look so easy," Sakura huffed, pouting angrily. She handed the amused Naruto his spear, glaring at his once attractive and now mocking pearly smile.

"Practice makes perfect!" He chuckled, and Sakura couldn't stop the tiny grin that crept its way onto her lips. Just looking at him made this happened sometimes.

"How did you even makes the spear? I mean, with what?"

"I used this to cut it," Naruto said, pulling out a pocket knife from his shorts, "It was hard at first, since bamboo is so strong, but I got it done eventually."

There was a short pause where Sakura just stared at Naruto. He was… so skilled.

"You amaze me," Sakura finally said, shaking her head in disbelief. Why was he so good at everything? It was unfair.

"Aww shucks," Naruto uttered as he batted his eyelashes. Sakura giggled at this, causing Naruto's grin to widen and Sakura's eyes to roll.

"Oh please!" She said, "You're so overly conceited."

"Conceited? Me?" Naruto gasped, feigning hurt as he placed a hand over his heart, "How could you say such a thing?"

"Just go put a shirt on, weirdo," Sakura muttered as she made her way out of the water.

"Why? Can't handle my sexiness?"

Sakura scoffed. What nerve! To use such a primitive and foul word, and in front of a lady! Well, she supposed she shouldn't be surprised. It _was_ Naruto, after all. And with yet another roll of the eyes, she called back, "No, not because of your… '_sexiness'_." She even cringed saying it, "But because the sun is very dangerous. Especially here. You don't want your back to get burned, do you?"

"_Relax_," He assured, drawing out the word lazily, "In my Province we do this all the time and we've never gotten hurt by the sun."

"Well," Sakura chipped, crossing her arms. She fixed a steamy glare at his back, "When you look like a strawraspberry tomorrow morning, don't say I didn't warn you."

"…Whatever you say, mommy." Naruto muttered under his breath, lucky that the waves drowned out the words, thus saving him from a very angry Sakura. He needed to find a way to loosen her up, he mused, make her live a little. She was the first girl he'd ever met that was so uptight, and it intrigued him a bit. All of the girls in his Province were more or less like him: outgoing and free spirited. But Sakura. No no no. She was _way_ different. However, strangely, Naruto liked it. It was the only thing that was keeping him sane during these passed two days. He always liked a challenge.

Sakura sat by the fire for what seemed like hours. She had nothing to do. Or at least nothing useful. All she could do was continuously watch Naruto spear fish, captivated by his figure for some strange reason. She couldn't think of a word to describe him. He was a very fit boy, with lean muscle and a very… manly aura to him. Very protective. His hair, as golden as the sun that bathed it, was messy— a bit on the short side— and was periodically swept back on his head, causing it to look spiky. And his eyes… They were such a deep blue— such a _rich_ blue— that it gave both the sky and the ocean shame.

Still… Sakura couldn't find the right word for him.

But then suddenly it came to her.

"Handsome!" She whispered, snapping her fingers. Though nearly immediately after the word escaped her lips, she covered her mouth. Her green eyes widened as she realized what she just said. 'Handsome', was not a word anyone used to describe people, let alone _men_. It was a word commonly used to describe landscape, or behavior. Not people. That was just absurd. She'd never felt anything like this toward anyone before, and frankly, it scared her— Attraction… that's what she knew it was called. In school she learned that only spouses were attracted toward each other. If so, then why was she attracted to Naruto? It made no sense to her, because she had known other boys her entire life. Boys that she grew up with. Yet here was one that she met no more than a day ago, and these 'feelings' seemed to be brewing in the pit of her stomach. Surely some of her male classmates were 'handsome' like Naruto, and if not, then more so. _Why_ Naruto, then? It puzzled her.

The boy in question walked over and placed his catches on a palm frond next to the fire, beginning to walk toward the forest. Sakura raised her head at this, wanted to say something but was unable to. Naruto, as if sensing this, stopped at the hairline of the forest, gazing over his shoulders and connecting eyes with the speechless girl. "I'll be back before sunset," He informed, "I'm just going out for some food."

All the pink headed girl could do was nod.

As soon as Naruto's shuffling retreated into the background of the jungle, Sakura found herself bored again. She needed to do something, not just to sate her own sanity, but to help Naruto. He was doing everything by himself so far, and if they were going to be a team she'd need to learn, fast. Looking around the sandy stretch of land, the only thing useful to do was spear— and even the _fish_ knew how badly she sucked at that. She considered her other options— fishing being last on the list. The forest— the only other place besides the beach or the ocean— was a definite no-no, and she could only go so far out before the water was too deep in the ocean.

The only people that knew how to swim— probably with the exception of Naruto, who apparently knew everything— were the Athletes. And Sakura was no Athlete. In fact, the Medical and the Athletic provinces were nearly opposite in practice.

Sakura ran a hand through her hair tiredly as she stood and sauntered the shoreline. Perhaps, she thought, she could look for other sea critters. There were plenty of immotile animals stuck around the ocean floor. It'd be easiest, for her at least, to capture those instead.

And so with that plan in mind she walked into the soothing water, not letting it get passed her knees, and gazed down into the clear liquid. The sand was soft and pale, burying her feet and making her toes look like sea worms peeking out of the ocean floor. Tiny fish, ones that Sakura hadn't seen while spearing, circled her legs, nibbling at her toes. The sensation tickled, sending a shiver up her spine. She wiggled her feet, causing the sand on top to form a disgruntled cloud that drove away the miniature fish. Sakura exhaled, uncomfortable with being fish food, and began searching for something, _anything_, besides fish.

Something pale pink caught Sakura's eye then. She reached down into the water, bringing up what seemed like a conch shell. Sakura fingered its shaped, tracing to cone-like spiral and the sharp grooves. She remembered reading about something like it in a beginner's book. A shell, or rather, an animal that looked like a shell, that secreted some sort of natural antibiotic, or material that helped with something. It was a minor thing, very unimportant in her studies, so she never really dedicated her time to memorizing it. And for the love of the New World, she couldn't remember what it was!

Sakura groaned at her horrible memory, turning the shell over to reveal a very curvy and open cave. Inside the cave there was something odd. Sakura blinked, making sure it was not her imagination. A pink _something_ was lodged inside, and if she had to describe it, she'd call it 'stuck'. Cagily, she moved her finger to poke it, recoiling when her nail sunk into the warm flesh, causing her to drop it back into the water. She knew that she should have reached down and retrieved it again; however her body was too much of a coward to follow her brain's orders. Creatures like that, or just creatures unlike humans in general, simply freaked her out.

Eventually she gave up searching for food; walking back to the beach and sitting at the shoreline, letting the arriving waves greet her outstretched legs with foam and then pull back into the ocean peacefully. This steady come and go seemed to lull Sakura. Her green eyes scanned the ocean with a bit of disdain as she contemplated her situation once more. She was stuck on an insignificant land mass surrounded by an expansive blue sea. Frankly, staring at it was discouraging. All she wanted was to go home, and at least give a proper goodbye to her family. Her family who didn't know that there was a strong possibility they'd never see her again. Her family who didn't know that she wasn't at Institution, learning and making new friends. Sakura pressed her lips together, her fingers digging into the wet sand, creating mounds. She looked out to the ocean again, this time with wonder. Maybe there was hope. Maybe, if she wished it long enough, a ship would sail by.

She waited for a few moments, tense with prayer.

But nothing came. Sure, she thought, it wouldn't come right away. But still, a sign of hope would be nice.

There wasn't much time left in the day and the sun was just hitting the horizon, igniting the familiar crystals along the water's surface. The sight was breathtaking. Among the many sparkles, however, Sakura spotted a glint— a random light that went again the methodical shimmer of the ocean. She stood and walked closer to get a better look. There, bobbing up and down, disappearing and reappearing behind the waves. It was an object and no matter how much Sakura struggled to see what it was, the glare from the sun was just too stubborn to let her through. For a quick moment she debated whether or not to go out and get it. Only she was sadly reminded of her inability to swim.

"Sakura!"

The pink haired girl whipped her head around; searching for the voice that she knew belonged to Naruto. He wasn't there.

"Sakura! I found something!" He called again, his voice echoing through the forest.

"What is it?" She yelled in response, quickly spinning her head back around to search for the glint… But it was gone. She brought her eyebrows together, searching frantically for it again.

"I think it's some kind of box! I can't really tell! It's in some enormous tree!"

Sakura frowned, watching the sun begin to set, "It's almost dark out! We can check it out at daybreak! I think I saw something too! Come back and help me find it!"

There was a distant bustling in the foliage and Sakura began to make her way toward the camp fire. She reached the warm flames, refueling it briefly with Naruto's supply stack of tinder, and noticing the gradually advancing rustling from the foliage. Sakura grinned, saying a bit loudly so Naruto could hear, "Wow. That was fast. Is the box really that close to camp? That means we won't have a problem bringing it back, I hope."

The rustling suddenly halted. Sakura raised a brow, inching closer to the jungle edge. "Naruto?" She uttered, pivoting her head to peer into the jungle, but the thick foliage was too much to see passed, "Quit playing, okay?"

There was a broad silence.

"…Naruto?"

A figure stumbled out of the dense greenery, collapsing on the sandy ground with a thud. It wasn't Naruto.

* * *

><p>"Where are we going?"<p>

"Just up this mountain."

"But _why_?" The girl complained, slumping and groaning dramatically. Her perfectly manicured feet were _killing_ her. Plus, her stomach was turning unpleasantly inside and making her feel sick.

"Because!" The dark haired boy barked, annoyed, "The higher we go, the more we can see of the area. Maybe we'll find some signs of civilization. Or even some damn water."

The girl gave another long and aggravated moan, rolling her head, causing the silky yet disheveled train of hair that when down her back to sway in its pony tail. Platinum strands were messily pulled from the top of her head, hanging loosely on the sides and in front of her face. She blew them away, crunching her straight and dirt smothered nose in disgusted. Dull blue eyes drilled holes into the boy's back.

"How much longer?"

"Listen kid," The boy growled, whipping his head around and stopping in his uphill trek, "If me and you are going to be doing this together, you need to learn one thing about me: I get annoyed easily. So, if you would please do me some good and shut your trap, that would be great!"

The girl crossed her arms, suppressing the animalistic urge to hiss at him like some cat.

"_Kid_? We're the same age!" She back talked, clenching her hidden fists. The boy took a deep breath, closing his chestnut eyes for a moment to calm himself.

"Do you want me to leave you? I'm perfectly capable of surviving on my own. You, on the other hand…"

Frowning, the girl stared at the boy with a little bit of worry. Would he really leave her? He knew _very well_ where her abilities stood, even if they had only been together for a day. She couldn't possibly survive without some help in this place.

"Relax," the boy muttered, turning back around and continuing up the slope, "I won't leave you… I'm not that much of an ass."

His words, although not said in the kindest tone, reassured the girl, causing a shiny white smile to spread across her lips. She opened her mouth to say something, but then thought against it, knowing even a mere thank you might just make the boy change his mind.

Within no less than an hour the two approached the peak of a somewhat tiny mountain. The girl exhaled loudly in relief, nearly collapsing out of both exhaustion and glee. Her burning thighs seemed to keep burning even after stopping. Panting with her hands on her knees, she lifted her head to watch the boy move towards the end of the forest, weaving through whatever trees were left and halting at the edge of a cliff.

He went ridged.

"Come… look at this," He whispered, and the girl could barely catch it over the jungle's ruckus.

"What is it?" She questioned, walking to his side.

Her body tensed as well at the sight. Rolls and rolls of jungle, thick and foreboding, continued on forever in all directions, consuming the horizon. Everything was green, with several sheets of clouds hovering aimlessly above. Just the sight of it all made the corners of the girls blue eyes feel wet with anxiety. She swallowed hard, keeping herself from crying.

"Where _are_ we…?"

_To be continued…_

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Oh my goodness, my computer is so crappy! It took forever to write this with all the lag! **

**I apologize for the delay! Really, I'm so sorry! *scolds self***

**Okay, so obviously here is chapter 2! I hope you liked it! It still needs some editing because my computer is too slow for me to waste time and go back. I apologize for any gaping mistakes, as well as the tiny ones! **

**Well, yeah. Review! PLEASE! I don't have much time before I go back to school, and I think if I got some motivation then I could write one more before then! (Who knows how busy I'll be once school starts ;n;)**

**REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW**

**Please… c: - for the cute smiley face.**

**Also check out my original account: Point of Departure**


	4. Part I: Chapter III: THE ART OF LIFE

҉ ¤ Gallimaufry ¤ ҉

Part I: Chapter III

_The Art of Life_

The earth seemed to halt in its rotation; causing the bugs to stop buzzing and the waves to stop splashing, allowing a moment of silence for Sakura to gaze wide-eyed at the beaten figure that had stumbled upon the white beach. The rising moon and the dim, distant fire shone against its dark hair and luminously pale skin. It didn't quite look human from where Sakura could see; an odd shape sticking out from the side of its leg, like an appendage. The sight of the beast held Sakura stiff in fear, and it took all of her energy to break from her shocked, frozen position, and even longer for her medical expertise to kick in. She rushed over to the figure— a boy, she realized— and turned him over gently, hurriedly dragging him closer to the fire for more light.

Sakura checked over his body.

Lodged in and protruding from his left leg— what Sakura had earlier assumed to be an extra, irregular appendage— was actually a long branch, more than two coins in diameter, its wood splintered and cracked with a few remaining leaves hanging on. Red liquid soaked his jeans around the area, and Sakura could smell the fresh iron as she closed in to examine it. A normal person would have gagged at the sight— a wound plugged and waiting to explode. All along his face were gashes and bruises. The biggest was along his hairline, and probably measured the same as Sakura's index finger. It oozed blood onto the rest of his face, dirtied and mixed in with the sand.

For a split second Sakura didn't know what to do. What _could_ she do? She was stuck on an island, with no access to any kind of medical supplies whatsoever. She had assessed his wounds; determining that perhaps one would need to be stitch up, others simply bandaged, and she knew what needed to be done. However, she could do nothing. A weight like thousand airplanes came down on her shoulders, causing her to shake. What could she do? She had never been faced with a situation like this.

Sakura looked to the ocean, a paroxysm of realization hitting her.

Salt water.

Sakura rushed to the shoreline, grabbing a few of the furry cups on the way. After filling the cups she ran back to the practically unconscious boy, nearly spilling the liquid, and placed the furry goblets down on the sand. Immediately she began to tear strips away from the bottom of the boy's jeans and around the wound, soaking them in the salt water. Then she turned her attention to the foreign body protruding from the boy's leg. She didn't know how far the branch had penetrated his tissue, but judging by its angle and position it didn't hit anything vital.

Sakura quickly ran to refill a few cups, prepping for the branch's removal. She knelt by the wound, gingerly wrapping her fingers around the bough's trunk, she pulled it out, immediately drowning the bleeding wound in salt water before wrapping it up with some of the soaked jean strips. Moving on to the boy's other cuts and scrapes, Sakura realized the only thing she could really do was clean his wounds. Sakura sighed, feeling a bit more at ease as she lifted the boy's head into her lap and began dabbing his wounds with a jean strip. The blood and sand that had been smudged all along his pale canvas-like skin was soon washed away, revealing a strangely beatific face. The steady spray of the waves against the shore appeased Sakura's ears, and the world seemed to be back in motion.

The boy's breathing abated, his eyes cracking open. Sakura's breath caught in her esophagus. He had the darkest, yet most sparkly eyes known to man. They were like a caves; no light available except for the dim shine of the crystals lining the walls. He was gorgeous.

"Sakura!" Naruto called in the distance. The boy closed his eyes again.

"Naruto! Come quickly! There's someone here who needs our help!"

Within a matter of minutes Naruto ran out of the thick foliage and onto the shore, stopping dead in his tracks at the sight of the boy. "What happened?" He asked, kneeling beside Sakura to gawk at the boy.

"I don't know, he just kind of… appeared like this," Sakura replied, throwing the stick that had been in his leg into the fire, "And it doesn't seem like he's traveled far either." Naruto immediately looked up, his face stern like marble.

Sakura looked down at the boy; he seemed to have fallen asleep. Charily she removed his head from her lap, lying down in the sand beside him. She had no idea why, but she was thoroughly exhausted. Naruto stood, peering over at her.

"You should rest…" Naruto said, "It's been a long day…"

And without even meaning to, Sakura fell asleep.

* * *

><p>˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.◦► ¤◄◦.·˙.·˙.·˙.·˙.·˙.·˙.·˙.·˙.·˙<p>

* * *

><p>She awoke to a sweet smelling green bulb poking around at her face. A honey pop. Or many, for that matter, attached to a branch held by Naruto. "Wakey wakey," he poked, and Sakura took one in her mouth, squeezing out the delectable juice. Her stomach was feeling better already. She sat up and looked to her side, expecting to the see the mangled, sleeping boy.<p>

But he was gone.

Sakura withdrew, scanning the area restlessly for him. Her green eyes softened upon seeing him a little ways down the shore, standing to watch the sun rise.

"Care to eat?" Sakura's eyes snapped to Naruto. He was offering a piece of sliced fruit.

"What is it?" She asked, taking it in her hands and carefully examining it. It had dark yellowish orange flesh, and leathery green skin.

"To my understanding, it's a mango."

"A mango?" Sakura stared at the juice, which reeked a bit of turpentine, "What in the world…"

"It's a lot like a mangerine. Except this is what the old people used to eat before the genetic revolutions," Naruto explained. A switched went off in Sakura's head. All students new of the genetic revolutions. There were two big ones; one in the 2100's, and another in the 2330's. In the 2100's the 'revolution' was mainly about the alteration of human genomes. It became a trend for people to permanently change their hair and eyes to odd colors. And depending on the style at the time, features were added or taken away from the human race. However, this genetic revolution came to a brutal end with the discovery that scientists were secretly cloning homo sapiens. Due to the ethical outrage brought by that subject, a 'restoration' period was then initiated, thus changing most of the odd hair and eye colors back to normal and ending the reign of the Second Great Society. Few "odd color" genes survived; Sakura being a prime example.

The second big genetic revolution was in the plant genome, and focused mainly on improving the standard production of food. It took the genomes of existing plants as well as extinct, preserved plants and combined them to create the ultimate flora; plants who were more suitable to certain conditions. It increased durability in cold weather, increased size, quantity, quality, and even managed calorie counts.

"Aren't these supposed to be extinct?" Sakura questioned.

"I thought so too."

Sakura sniffed the fruit again, and slowly grimaced. "Just try it," Naruto said, "It's actually good."

Sakura dared to bite into it. To her surprise, Naruto was right; it didn't taste that bad. She gazed up into his bright ocean eyes, smiling.

At that moment the boy tottered over and plopped down by the fire, a frown burdening his clean face. Naruto offered him a piece of mango, which he took without a word, simply holding it in his palm. Sakura stared at him.

"So what's your name?" She finally asked, deciding that simply calling him 'the boy' would not suffice. Besides, he wasn't a boy; he was a man.

"Sasuke Uchiha." His voice was deep and masculine. It was exquisite to listen to, like the collide of waves, yet extremely monotone.

"I'm Sakura, and that's Naruto," She said, gesturing to the aforementioned blonde, "It's nice to meet you."

Sasuke was silent.

"Where are you from?" Naruto inquired.

Silence.

"Um…" Droned Sakura, "Could you maybe tell us how you got here? We're a bit curious…"

Sasuke scowled and stood, throwing his piece of fruit into the fire before limping off into the foliage.

"What a waste," Naruto grumbled to himself, poking around the searing mango with a stick, "I worked hard getting that."

"What do you think his problem is?" Sakura mumbled, staring off in the direction Sasuke hobbled way in.

"I don't know, I thought it was pretty good too!"

"What? No, not with the mango, Naruto," Sakura rolled her eyes, "With what I asked. I didn't mean to offend him."

"I wouldn't worry too much about it. He seems like an ass anyway—"

"Naruto! You can't just assume that about people!"

"I know the type," Naruto retorted, gritting his teeth. He broke the poking stick into pieces and threw them into the fire.

Sakura gave him a disapproving look. "We should go after him. It's dangerous out there alone."

"He'll come back," Naruto said, staring into Sakura with unmoving eyes,"_Stop_ _worrying_."

"He's probably just like us; a Provincial student stranded on a forsaken island. I believe, as equals, it is our job to help a fellow civilian in need. The more people we have in our group the better, right?" Naruto's face was stern; unmoving, as he averted his eyes from the question. Sakura sighed, scrunching her brows together and looking at the sand. Something was wrong with Naruto. He became… subliminally defensive, it seemed, though Sakura couldn't put a word on what exactly he was being defensive about. And although she only knew Naruto for a few days, Sakura understood Naruto's character enough to tell that he wasn't one to jump to conclusions. Therefore whatever his problem may have been with Sasuke, it was probably justifiable.

"I have a bad feeling about him." Naruto finally stated. Sakura watched as his face completely morphed from one of complete seriousness and concern to its old shape of lightheartedness and play. His face often did that. "Well, anyway, are you ready to head out?"

"Where?"

"To that place I was telling you about. With the box," Naruto explained, standing up.

"Oh, right." Sakura remembered. Naruto offered a hand to help her up, though he stopped in the action eyes wide.

"W-what? What's wrong?" Sakura stammered, giving him a worried look.

"Your right elbow! It's like a coconut! What happened?" He responded, kneeling down to her level to examine the joint.

"A coco-what?" Sakura looked down at the area of interest, seeing that it was swollen and nearly as blue as the deep sea. Her face eased into a look of annoyance and disinterest. "Oh… It's fine. Just a sprain."

"Why didn't you say something earlier?" Naruto questioned, concern plaguing his pretty features. Sakura couldn't understand his worry though; her injury was nothing— at least compared to Sasuke's.

"I didn't notice it because there wasn't any pain," Sakura lied,"I suppose it just swelled. It looks worse than it is; I'm fine. Besides, there's not much you can do about a sprain considering our circumstances."

"Of course there is!" Naruto persisted, "Anything you need, I'll get it!"

"Listen Naruto, I've lived and grown up in a Medical Province. I know what to do. If I could have done it, I would."

"And what may that be?" Naruto challenged, raising a questioning brow.

She swallowed, her mouth slightly dry, and stared menacingly into the deep abyss of his glowing blue eyes. "To treat a sprain there are four major actions that must be carried out," Sakura began, tapping off her fingers while counting, "Number one, rest. Number two, ice the sprain. Number three, support and wrap the sprain. And number four, elevate the sprain."

Sakura grinned as she recalled her very first lessons. There was a short pause.

"You haven't done any of those."

"It's not like I have a bandage, or a sling," Sakura defended, "Plus, we have no ice."

"You have to be creative, Sakura," Naruto said, standing up. He began to unbutton his blue shirt, slowly revealing a tan and toned chest. Sakura's breath caught in her throat as she averted her eyes, a strange and unnatural heated rising from her stomach to her face. After stripping off the shirt Naruto stared at her, a growing smirk decorating his lips.

"Are you blushing?" He almost laughed.

"Blushing— No, of course not!" Sakura sputtered, glancing between his chest and the white sand beside her multiple times. His accusation caused an even greater heat to envelope her cheeks. What was wrong with her? This was like a body malfunction.

"Sorry," He apologized, a smirk still prevalent on his façade, "I guess you're not used to seeing shirtless men, being from the main Provinces and all. Back home most of us work in the fields without shirts— the men, I mean— so I usually don't think much of it."

Another difference between her Province and his, Sakura noted.

He kneeled back down in front of Sakura, beckoning her wavering and ambling eyes to gaze into his own hard stare. With his shirt he reached behind her neck and began to make a sling. "Where did you learn to do that?" Sakura questioned, but Naruto's smirk simply widened in response, the sun baking his already golden skin, highlighting the side of his sculpted, masculine face. Sakura was stunned at the image. In the pit of her stomach she felt a bitter knot that tangled and sewed around her entire body, causing her bones to feel like gelatin and her heart to freeze. What was this feeling, and why did it exist? Sakura could only guess. The only thing that she knew was that she _liked _it. A lot.

"There," Naruto exhaled, his breath sweet like honey pop. The smell made Sakura dizzy. "That's what I mean by 'creative'."

Sakura blinked, regaining her composure and prompting the world to still. "That was hardly necessary," She muttered, shooting him a disapproving look as he stood.

"Does it help?"

"… I suppose." It _did_ take weight off of her shoulder and ease the pain.

"Then it's necessary." Naruto said, flashing his pearly whites again. He proceeded to help Sakura up, noticing a red splotch all across her left ankle. He narrowed his eyes. "Do your burns hurt?"

Sakura followed his eyes down to the marred skin, her face falling at the obvious wound. The skin was red and pink, still soft yet beginning to harden and blister over. The plastic of her shoe was melted into a clump on the side. "… Yeah."

Naruto gave her a look of disbelief. "Why don't you tell anyone anything about your injuries?" He grumbled, "You're a medic for goodness sake!"

"I was going to look for some materials to treat it, but I forgot."

"Let's look now," Naruto proposed, no, demanded, grabbing Sakura's good arm and dragging her toward the forest.

"_Now? _Wait—What about the box?"

"That's not important at the moment," He stated, a hint of insolence in his voice, "What do you need?"

"Just some tea leaves, or maybe some aloe," Sakura quickly answered, a bit unsure as Naruto steered them through the thick foliage and over broad tree roots to an unfamiliar path— not that anything there was _familiar _to begin with_._ Halting, Naruto released Sakura's pale hand and stepped his way over a few bushes.

"Wait here," he commanded, disappearing behind the creepers that hung from a nearby tree. And, like an obedient pet, Sakura waited. Almost as quickly as he had left Naruto reappeared, this time with a slice of aloe in his palm. "Is this good?"

"That was fast." Sakura noted aloud, taking the plant to examine it, "It's perfect."

His speed and precision and overall knowledge of the area was outstanding. Did he know all of the plants on the face of the earth? Probably. Yet again Naruto amazed her with his expertise.

"Why did I even bring you a long," the boy uttered to himself, running a hand through his golden locks and giving Sakura a vertical pan, "You're practically crippled. You should be resting."

Sakura dismissed his constant worry. In a way it was belittling. Though she couldn't say she didn't feel safe because of it. It generated a warm feeling within her, different than before when she had been ogling over Naruto's body. This feeling wasn't bitter; on the contrary, it was sweet. It didn't make her heart stop; it made it beat faster— she was developing a soft spot for the omniscient boy in front of her.

* * *

><p>˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.◦► ¤◄◦.·˙.·˙.·˙.·˙.·˙.·˙.·˙.·˙.·˙<p>

* * *

><p>Two pairs of feet crunch along the side of a tiny fresh water stream— one pair sluggish and tired, while the other remained swift and strong. Amphibious critters who lay peacefully on the side hopped out of the frantic couple's path, warning other animals of their presence. The birds chirped loudly with the early morning sun, creating new and beautiful melodies that would lift the spirits of any listener. However, not to the blonde girl walking along the stream. To her the birds were mocking. Their melodies were so energetic and refreshing that it made her even more fatigued; reminding her of the little sleep she had gotten the night before and how much she craved a cold shower. With soap and conditioner.<p>

"We're going to need to keep moving at all times until we find some place safe," The brown haired boy nearly ten feet in front of her called. He looked over his shoulder to hear the girl's response, noticing how far she lagged behind. She simply peeked through the curtain of tiny hairs that were pulled from her pony tail, spilling over her face, and glared heatedly at him.

It was obvious that they needed to take a rest, and he knew it.

The boy stopped and turned on his heel, heading up the slight inclined hill toward the girl. "We'll rest for a few minutes," He announced, and the light came back to the blonde girl's face as she fell down on the rocks and pebbles beneath her. The boy filled their water bottle.

"We're lucky," He said, taking a sip of water before handing the bottle to the girl, "We came across this stream. Eventually we should reach a greater body of water that it pours into."

He sat down in front of her and reached into the flowing stream, retrieving an animal that squirmed in his grip, "Hungry?"

The girl shrieked, scooting away from the ugly creature in the boy's hand.

"Freshwater Crab," he stated hungrily, hissing as it pinched the pad of his finger, "They're great for protein."

He took the animal's big claw and ripped it off, discarding the rest of it. Using the butt of his pocketknife to crack it open against a sturdy rock, he tore away the shell and ate the meat, fighting a vehement grimace. And although it wasn't exactly his mother's cooking, he shot a boastful smile to the girl. Her dull blue eyes widened in disgust, a gag forming in her throat.

The boy reached into the stream again, retrieving another crab. "Here," He offered, extending the crab to the girl, "You have to link their pinchers together and hold them in order for them not to get you. But getting the meat should be easy."

"Ew, no!" The girl exclaimed, making an audible noise of disgust, "There's no way I'm eating that! And definitely not raw!"

"We can't waste time building a fire unless we really need it. We don't have all day, and we can't travel by night. So you have to eat it raw. Now."

"I'll pass."

The boy glared daggers into her unreasonable eyes, "_Eat_ _now_, or _die_ _later_."

The girl's eyes shook with hesitation as she thought over what she was about to do. She really didn't want to eat that poor thing, however, in the back of her mind, no matter how hard her conscious tried to stop her, a little voice was urging her to grab the animal and devour it senseless. Her pretty, dirty, porcelain face scrunched up at the thought. Nevertheless, she took the crab from the boy— ignoring his triumphant grin as she did so— and linked its two pinchers together before tearing them apart, cracking the big claw open between two rocks. She placed the fleshy meat into her mouth, forcing herself to swallow. She knew it wouldn't help her already upset stomach.

"Why are we eating just the big claw?" She questioned, looking down at the tiny section of meat. Even if she liked it, the portion would not be filling.

"Crabs are infested with tons of parasites. It's never safe to eat their meat raw. Usually you can eat what's around the sides, but we can't risk getting sick. The big claw is purest part; that's why we eat it," The boy explained, searching for another crab with no luck.

"What about the rest of it?"

"There isn't much meat on it to begin with, and the gills are taboo to eat. _Never _eat the gills. They're the filthiest part," He explained. There was a short pause as the girl finished her claw.

"What confuses me is; why do you need to know all this stuff in your Province? You know, all this crab stuff, what to eat, what to drink, how to live in the Forbidden," She said, twisting her face in thought, "Is the Military even needed anymore? It's not like we have any wars."

The boy pressed his lips together, thinking over his answer slowly. "Sometimes we are needed to help troubled scientists out of the Forbidden. Sometimes they get too excited and get stuck somewhere only we can get them."

"But why is it necessary?"

"… I'm afraid I can't tell you everything you want to know about my Province," He affirmed, his face blank.

"…Why?"

"_Why_ do you ask so many questions?" He countered, a bit sarcastic. He fell back into the ground, staring at the tree covered sky and placing his palms behind his head, "Simple: we took an oath of secrecy. I can't tell you what the Military Provinces are for; that would go against my oath."

The girl narrowed her eyes, "How are we supposed to support each other if we can't trust each other?"

"I'm sure you, Ino Yamanaka, actress of the biggest Film Province in the world, have a few secrets you can't share with me."

Ino bit her bottom lip. "You know," She said, "I never asked you your name."

The boy smiled genuinely, for once, his canines sharper than anyone's she's seen, "Kiba Inuzuka," He said.

* * *

><p>˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.◦► ¤◄◦.·˙.·˙.·˙.·˙.·˙.·˙.·˙.·˙.·˙<p>

* * *

><p>Naruto whistled as he and Sakura gazed up at what had to be one of the tallest trees they had ever seen. Up in one of the branches, its silhouette illuminated by the blaze of the sun, was a box, barely visible from where they stood.<p>

"Wow," Naruto exhaled, "I must have super vision if I saw that at night. I could have sworn it was closer."

Sakura didn't even know what to say. How the heck were they going to get _that_? It was probably 70 feet up in the air. It would be too risky to even try climbing. "We should leave it," She proposed, glancing at Naruto, whose head was still up marveling at the height.

"No," He said, "I'll climb it."

"You must be suicidal!"

"Please, Sakura, I've climbed trees too many times to count back in my Province," Naruto mumbled, "Just not this high."

Sakura crossed her arms— or rather, placed the good arm under the sling—, unsure.

"How about this," Naruto began, grinning mischievously, "Let's have a bet."

Sakura raised her brows, "Why do you feel the need to change risking your life into a game?"

"I bet you I can make it halfway up that tree," Naruto said. That would be about fifty feet; not too bad. At least that was what Naruto was trying to convince himself.

"Only if you do it in five minutes or less," Sakura added.

"Hey, we have to be reasonable! Halfway up and down without… dying."

Sakura rolled her emerald eyes, "… and your reward?"

Naruto looked up in thought, tapping his chin with his index finger. After a minute he turned to Sakura, deciding, "Mm… I'll think about it."

"I'm sorry, I can't agree to a bet where I don't know the terms," Sakura joked.

"Fine. The reward, if I win… will be that you have to do one thing for me, anything I ask. Even if you don't want to do it," Naruto said this as if he had given it some genuine thought prior… As if she already knew what he was going to ask her, but didn't want to say it.

Sakura narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "That's hardly fair. What if I _really_ don't want to do it?"

"Doesn't matter. You still have to." He held back a revealing grin. Sakura wanted so badly to know what he on his mind.

"…Fine."

"And if _you_ win the bet?" He asked.

"Mm… I'll think about it." Sakura mocked. Naruto raised his golden brows, "Okay, okay… You have to… throw me a feast."

"Laaaaame," Naruto dragged out, frowning, "Come on, give me some more motivation."

"Then… If I win, you have to… Bring me somewhere beautiful; somewhere breathtaking." Sakura smirked.

Naruto grinned ear to ear. Although it didn't exactly 'motivate' him to win the bet, he did like the sound of that. "So it's settled?"

The two shook hands. "It's settled."

"Alright… Here I go."

Naruto had a rough start. The branches didn't bud from the trunk until about fifteen feet up, thus all he had for support were the loose creepers and ivy that had crawled around the bark. It took him almost ten minutes of reaching and falling to get to first sturdy branch. When he did, he looked over his shoulder at a very shaky Sakura, sticking out his tongue. Sakura smiled at his confidence.

Who would have guessed that over the course of two days they would already be— somewhat— friends. If not friends, then pleasant colleagues, or perhaps even friendly acquaintances. No, that didn't sound right. Sakura knew they were more than just that. She and Naruto had an instant bond… She couldn't exactly explain what it was…

Snap.

A chill ran down Sakura's spine, causing her whole body to shiver. Swiftly she looked up, searching through the blinding sun for Naruto, who was already nearly thirty-five feet high. She spotted him dangling from a branch, one foot barely on a bough while the other was frantically searching for some foothold.

"Naruto!" Sakura screamed, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah!" He grunted back, his voice echoing through the forest.

"Naruto don't go any higher! You should come down!" Sakura called, her heart racing at the possibility of him falling.

"I'm not losing this bet!" He laughed. Sakura knew it was only an attempt to ease her nerves though. She could tell he was scared as out his mind, just as she was.

Swinging, Naruto managed to get both feet on one branch. For a minute he halted, leaning against the trunk to rest, and then kept moving upward; going on 40 feet, 45 feet, 47 feet.

"He's crazy," Sakura thought aloud.

Just then a blur of black flashed at her flank. She turned her head quickly, recoiling at the sight of the boy— Sasuke— planted next to her. He was watching Naruto.

"What are you—?" Sakura started, but the boy had taken off in the direction of the tree and had begun climbing, "Hey!"

Sasuke was a fantastic climber. His hands were agile and strong, and he moved about the branches almost strategically. What took Naruto ten minutes took him less than one. Sakura's mouth fell agape as she watched him he quickly advanced, tailing Naruto and quickly closing the distance. How did he climb so fast, especially with that injured leg of his? He must be made of steel.

By the time Naruto had reached fifty feet, Sasuke has already passed him and was promptly approaching the box. Sakura had to shade her eyes in order to see him.

"What is it?" Sakura asked when Sasuke had reached the box. He inspected is listlessly, scaling around it to get a better look. It was a large wooden crate with an immensely painted mailing stamp across the front face. It read:

INSTITUTION

_To be continued…_

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><p>˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.˙·.◦► ¤◄◦.·˙.·˙.·˙.·˙.·˙.·˙.·˙.·˙.·˙<p>

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**A/N: Arghhh! So I couldn't get this out in time for Christmas! I'm sorry! :(**

**(It's like 18 minutes late!)**

**Well anyways, I hope you enjoyed it! Please review! I MEAN PLLLLEEEEASE!** **I will never discontinue this story if you don't, but still…. Please!**

**Also, I apologize for not updating in a while… I have A LOT of work… A LOT…. AP classes and junk. Ugh. College stuff…. UGH. Someone save me from this torture! **

**Anyhow, I hope to update **_**A Million Pieces of Eight **_**sometime this week! I know how much you all want Chapter 2! I promise it will come!**

_Love,_

_Miasmic_

**PS: Sorry for grammatical/spelling errors. I really wanted to get this out. And quickly.**

**Also:…Review**


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